Tuesday, May 03, 2016

I detest quota systems of any sort, but especially when they are
proposed as government policy or, worse, imposed by an abuse
of government force. That said, I have an entirely other reason for
being disgusted by quotas, and Michael Hurd recently put
that quite well:

Think about it. If Hillary Clinton
hired you to be in her Cabinet, and you happen to be a woman, you will
know that you're in that high position because of your
genitalia. Sure, there will be other reasons. But the reason you rose
to the top -- to become Secretary of State, Defense or Treasury -- is
because of your unchosen biological gender, at least as much as any
accomplishments.

It's insulting. It's irrational. It is
sexist, too. Because sexism means elevating gender to the highest
or only consideration in a job. If you reject someone on principle
because they're a woman, when gender is irrelevant to the
consideration for the job, you're a sexist; but if you accept someone
on principle because they're a woman, when gender is irrelevant to the
consideration for the job, then you're every bit as sexist. It's
politically incorrect to say so, but it's also logical to say
so. [bold added]

What Hurd says of sexism applies equally
well to any other excuse leftists currently give to favor members of some groups over members of
others. Years ago, when I was in high school, I "said so" and lost
lots of friends. Part of that loss is on me, for doing that in perhaps
the worst possible circumstances and manner imaginable. But had such
programs not been in place, I would have never found myself thinking
(although possibly wrongly in that case) that such policies had harmed
me. (I already knew for a fact that they had harmed my
father.)

Ironically, I would find myself in the awkward position, a couple of decades later, of having to
gracefully refuse exactly the same sort of "favors."

2 comments:

I can speak to personal experience with the doubt in self created by quotas, whether they are real or perceived. My first job out of university was in the military at a time when visible minorities were fairly rare. I struggled with basic training and my final field test was a make or break for me. I was assigned a super-easy assignment and thereby was able to graduate. While I went on to do well in my remaining military time, that doubt remained about whether or not I truly passed basic training on my merits.